The historic blizzard that dropped nearly two feet of snow across the New York metropolitan area in February significantly impacted volume at the Port of New York and New Jersey. The blizzard shut down port facilities for three days, an occurrence that hasn’t happened in more than 10 years.
Total volume for February reached 589,795 TEUs (323,048 containers), a 15.7 percent decrease compared to the 699,240 TEUs (384,433 containers) recorded in February 2025. This number brings our year-to-date total through February to 1,339,701 TEUs (734,632 containers).
By The Numbers
| 2026 Year to Date (January – February) | February 2026 Total Volume | February 2026 Rail Volume |
| 1,339,701 TEUs (734,632 containers) handled | 589,795 (loaded and empty) TEUs (323,048 containers) | 56,544 containers moved |
Imports were also impacted, down 15.7 percent in February compared to the previous year, totaling 300,819 TEUs (164,730 containers) and 356,918 TEUs (196,321 containers). From January through February, imports at the Port of New York and New Jersey reached 673,792 TEUs (370,555 containers), a decrease of 8.4 percent from the 735,550 TEUs (406,597 containers) in the same period of 2025.
Exports for February totaled 103,283 TEUs (55,282 containers), a 3.8 percent decrease from the 107,335 TEUs (57,474 containers) recorded the previous year. Exports at the Port of New York and New Jersey reached 215,709 TEUs (115,140 containers) in the first two months of 2026, a 4.7 percent increase from the 206,041 TEUs (110,178 containers) exported in the same period of 2025.
Export empties decreased 21.1 percent in February from the previous year, totaling 184,440 TEUs and 233,839 TEUs. For the first two months of the year, export empties totaled 446,554 TEUs, a 6.1 percent decline from the 475,590 TEUs recorded in the same period of 2025. Import empties rose by 29.9 percent for the period of January through February.
February’s rail volume increased 9.5 percent from the previous year’s figure as a total of 56,544 containers moved by rail through the Port of New York and New Jersey. Rail volume in January and February was 11.3 percent higher than in the same period in 2025.
A total of 45,821 autos moved through the Port of New York and New Jersey in February, a 9.0 percent decrease compared with February 2025. Auto volume for the first two months of 2026 was 9.0 percent less than in the same period of 2025.
View monthly cargo volume here.